Newspaper column shares how an old Bible turns back its pages to the Mennonite immigrants of Butterfield, Mountain Lake
St. Louis Post-Dispatch metro columnist Tony Messenger, whose column debuted in September 2015, delivered a special message in his Sunday, September 25 column, one that goes back to find answers in a Bible he received from his mother.
As Messenger shares, “The Bible was given to her when her father died. ‘Our deepest sympathy, United Steelworkers of America, Local Union No. 3029’ is embossed in gold lettering on the back. I got it after she died.”
Messenger’s mother was born on a farm near Butterfield. Her father, remembered by that Bible, came from a family of Mennonites who worshipped at First Mennonite Church of Mountain Lake – immigrants who came to this country across the Atlantic Ocean.
Messenger draws from that old Bible in order to reveal answers to a shared history of immigration to this nation.
Here is the link to Messenger’s column – http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/tony-messenger/messenger-an-old-bible-holds-answers-to-a-shared-history/article_e0ec0da9-4b8a-5a12-bc77-7d18bc72da17.html.
(Thanks to former “Mountain Laker” Doug Wiens, son of Dr. Alvin Wiens and the late Rose Wiens, for sending the link to the post.)
According to his biography, Messenger has, “Never been one to mince words or worry about ruffling feathers.”
The veteran journalist, who joined the Post-Dispatch in 2008, has an award-winning record for column and editorial writing, including recognition as a finalist in the 2015 Pulitzer Prize competition, along with deputy editorial page editor Kevin Horrigan, for editorials on the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.
Messenger, who has served as the Post-Dispatch editorial page editor since 2012, describes his print column that will publish four times a week as his “Holy Grail.”
Messenger’s personal perspectives extend beyond his A2 position in print into the Post-Dispatch digital editions as well as his presence as a guest on some radio and television shows.
Messenger has a large Twitter following (@tonymess) from his work on the editorial pages as well as his news coverage, column writing and blogging while he reported from the Post-Dispatch capital bureau in Jefferson City, Missouri, from 2008 to 2012.
Public policy and political reporting lie in his wheelhouse. But Messenger will write much broader columns that will span a wide swath of topics, people and places throughout our region. He also plans to sometimes surprise readers.
His first column delves into the personal story behind former CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) agent Jeffrey Sterling, of O’Fallon, Missouri, who was imprisoned on federal espionage charges that accused him of leaking classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen.
Messenger studied journalism at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois, and now lives in Wildwood, Missouri.
